Live from the NCL Star July 23-August 15, 2023. Will I survive 23 days without the beverage package?

[bluesea777]

I recall you have an iPhone, right?

 

Google Translate app allows you to use camera to point at the text and it will translate for you.

 

 

[lepidoptera]

Sorry you are having such a hard time with food. My sister was a vegetarian for about 12 years and lived with me for a lot of that time, and it was definitely difficult to travel. However that was in the 00/10s, there shouldn’t be so much of a problem in this day and age. I definitely had issues last year in the Star once I was quarantined with them not wanting to provide me with food that wasn’t on the room service menu. I was told several times I could order whatever I wanted from any restaurant and just getting soup or other food that was palatable with nausea from the paxlovid was very frustrating, often took multiple calls.

 

I was very impressed with Royal’s vegan menu/specialty needs when I sailed them last year. I am not a vegetarian however I am lactose intolerant and have a food allergy so I ate off the vegan menu several times. Also when I brought up having a hard time finding things to eat once to my waiter once as a side comment they were very on top of it for the whole rest of the cruise. 

 

Glad you are finding things yummy off the ship and are having some success getting them to listen to you! 

[nhtravels]

7 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

 

 

 

All these wonderful skeins of wool are making me regret not learning needlecraft as a child.  But I guess it's never too late! 

 

Thank you once again Yvonne for sharing your adventures!  My mouth waters with each bakery you visit!  (Is it possible to gain weight from pictures?)

[mimmy52]

Thank you for this wonderful review. For many reasons I will never make it to Iceland, so I’m enjoying seeing it through your eyes.

[www3traveler]

Hi Sweetie,

You are now 9 hours ahead of your homebase.

As always, I pray that things are getting better for you.

Still hot here and very smoky again.

BIG BIG BIG BIG HUG

Love and prayers

[mkcurran]

On 7/30/2023 at 8:57 AM, YVRteacher said:

The award for the best bakery so far goes to Longyearbyen!

 

 

 

 

That was heaven on a plate!

 

 

Tell me you bought some of those amazing looking chocolates. 

[QuattroRomeo]

2 hours ago, mkcurran said:

Tell me you bought some of those amazing looking chocolates. 

Aren't they something?!? Even have some shaped like polar bears!! Everything looks so delicious.

[TrumpyNor]

On 7/30/2023 at 10:33 PM, LauraAnneC said:

That cake looks like something you would get in Ireland, made with real cream. It looks delicious! 
 

Hope you enjoy your evening tour! 

 

23 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

It was definitely real and definitely amazing!

 

22 hours ago, LauraAnneC said:

OMG - that sounds amazing! 

And this is how to make it yourself..... 😉

https://outside-oslo.com/kvaefjordkake/

[LauraAnneC]

22 minutes ago, TrumpyNor said:

 

 

And this is how to make it yourself..... 😉

https://outside-oslo.com/kvaefjordkake/

I see what you mean about it not being the simplest cake to make! It’s certainly time consuming 

[cdwh1902]

Hi, we are Aussies ( Wayne and Chris from Toowoomba,  Queensland  - about 2 hours west of Brisbane). We are flying up to Copenhagen to stay a week with a girlfriend before joining the ship in Tromso. We have noted the gathering at the Clarion Hotel at the Edge at 6.30pm  and will try to make it. Cheers, Wayne  and Chris. Looking forward to meeting new friends 😊 

[YVRteacher]

4 hours ago, cdwh1902 said:

Hi, we are Aussies ( Wayne and Chris from Toowoomba,  Queensland  - about 2 hours west of Brisbane). We are flying up to Copenhagen to stay a week with a girlfriend before joining the ship in Tromso. We have noted the gathering at the Clarion Hotel at the Edge at 6.30pm  and will try to make it. Cheers, Wayne  and Chris. Looking forward to meeting new friends 😊 

I look forward to meeting you! Enjoy your time in Copenhagen! The best cherries I’ve ever had were from the farmer’s market there.

[www3traveler]

Hi Sweetie,

Was thinking about you.

I hope that your day and tour went well.

BIG BIG BIG BIG HUG

Love and prayers always

[YVRteacher]

Update: everything is going great! I’ve been so busy having fun that I’ve barely had time to post! 

[TrumpyNor]

6 hours ago, TrumpyNor said:

 

 

And this is how to make it yourself..... 😉

https://outside-oslo.com/kvaefjordkake/

@YVRteacher There is a supermarket chain in Tromsø called Eurospar where they sell slices of that particular cake (small plastic containers with two or three slices), with the name "Verdens Beste" written on the label.  They do have one store in the city centre. 

[YVRteacher]

If you read my live review from the Jewel In Alaska in May, you know I experienced one of the best shore excursions ever doing the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour aboard the Aleutian Ballad. 
 

My experience on the evening tour in Longyearbyen was equally wonderful. Unforgettable, really!

 

My evening excursion in Longyearbyen booked through Hurtigruten is called Arctic Wilderness Evening.

 

So the bus driver didn’t actually say he liked my reindeer-fur-glitter-laden pants, but I’m pretty sure he was thinking they looked hot! I met the shuttle bus at the Radisson hotel in town and the driver said he would have to go slowly since the roads were so bad. As soon as we left town he floored it and we rattled and shook over this pothole-filled gravel spit between the ocean and the tundra bog. The evening sun was bathing the mountains in light and I loved the drive (even though it felt like the bus was going to fall apart at the next pothole) as it took me farther out of town than I was able to walk on my own (one has to be with a guide with a gun when leaving town.)

The dog sled dog kennels made me sad and this doesn’t look like a nice place for dogs. I know they have fur but it’s really really cold here and their kennels are just wooden doghouses to which they are chained.

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, TrumpyNor said:

@YVRteacher There is a supermarket chain in Tromsø called Eurospar where they sell slices of that particular cake (small plastic containers with two or three slices), with the name "Verdens Beste" written on the label.  They do have one store in the city centre. 

Verdens Beste? World's Best? Who decided that? 😄 That must be some yummy cake! 😋🍰

[www3traveler]

1 hour ago, YVRteacher said:

If you read my live review from the Jewel In Alaska in May, you know I experienced one of the best shore excursions ever doing the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour aboard the Aleutian Ballad. 
 

My experience on the evening tour in Longyearbyen was equally wonderful. Unforgettable, really!

 

My evening excursion in Longyearbyen booked through Hurtigruten is called Arctic Wilderness Evening.

 

So the bus driver didn’t actually say he liked my reindeer-fur-glitter-laden pants, but I’m pretty sure he was thinking they looked hot! I met the shuttle bus at the Radisson hotel in town and the driver said he would have to go slowly since the roads were so bad. As soon as we left town he floored it and we rattled and shook over this pothole-filled gravel spit between the ocean and the tundra bog. The evening sun was bathing the mountains in light and I loved the drive (even though it felt like the bus was going to fall apart at the next pothole) as it took me farther out of town than I was able to walk on my own (one has to be with a guide with a gun when leaving town.)

The dog sled dog kennels made me sad and this doesn’t look like a nice place for dogs. I know they have fur but it’s really really cold here and their kennels are just wooden doghouses to which they are chained.

Does not look any better than how Alaskan Sled dogs are housed.  

[WestCoastDeb]

1 hour ago, YVRteacher said:

Update: everything is going great! I’ve been so busy having fun that I’ve barely had time to post! 

 

That is a wonderful change of circumstance. Thanks for taking us along!

[YVRteacher]

54 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Verdens Beste? World's Best? Who decided that? 😄 That must be some yummy cake! 😋🍰

It really was!

[YVRteacher]

Arriving at Camp Barentz (you’ll see me spelling this different ways and I’m using the spelling from the various signposts) we were greeted by our guide and polar bear guard, Raluka.  She has a rifle and a flare gun and an excellent teacher voice!

She is from Romania and has been in Svalbard for 8 years. Her rifle training is extensive and she can hit a target from 150m. Polar bear guard training consists of hours of rifle practice and lots of time observing and understanding polar bear behaviour. Every guide has a mental line they set and if the polar bear crosses the line they are a dead bear. When a polar bear is shot there is always a police investigation to ensure the shooting was in self defence or to protect other people. An average of two polar bears are shot each year in Longyearbyen.

 

We are given strict instructions about where we can walk and how to use the bathrooms and what to do if a polar bear approaches then we enter Barentsz Hus.

[YVRteacher]

Barentsz Hus is a replica of the cabin Willem Barentsz and his crew built using the planks of wood from their ship and driftwood when their Dutch ship sailed so far north in search of the northeast passage they got stuck in the ice.

Our group is composed of 24 people from around the world: Spain, Morocco, Sweden, Denmark, China, Thailand, US, Canada. We are 24 people sitting on reindeer pelts, raising a glass of Barents Aquavit in a toast to Willem Barentsz. 

Skoll! 

(Cheers in Norwegian!)

 

My reindeer pelt came from a much softer reindeer this time!

 

The beverages were unlimited! Turns out I have quite the taste for Aqauvit! 

 

Our main course is bidos which is a traditional Sami stew that is served for important celebrations or important guests. It is a simple dish made of reindeer, potato, carrot, onion and salt and pepper.  The best part of the reindeer is used (heart, tongue, liver, kidneys.)  In the photos below, top middle is my vegetarian stew. It was amazing! Most people had two bowls of reindeer stew and every table ate all their bread and butter.

We were treated to freshly baked bread, large slabs of butter and Norwegian flatbread. Raluka taught us the Norwegian way of eating flatbread with a chunk of butter.

 

[YVRteacher]

When we first entered the Barentsz Hus my eye was drawn to the fire

then to these spears in a barrel.

They looked like perfect sticks on which to roast marshmallows for S’mores! (It is obvious now they are hunting spears but my brain thought roasting sticks! It’s the Girl Guide in me.)

 

We did not have S’mores.  We had Arctic brownies! Arctic brownies have double the chocolate, double the sugar, walnuts and raisins. Like polar bears preparing for a long hibernation in snow caves, us cruisers need to bulk up for the season and these Arctic brownies are just the thing.

 

This photo was taken by candlelight so sorry for the poor quality.  Despite my bad photo, these brownies were outstanding! With dessert, coffee brewed over the fire or mugs of hot blackcurrant drink were offered. I chose the blackcurrant and it was the absolute perfect accompaniment to the decadent brownies.

Edited August 1, 2023 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

Somewhere in this photo is a reindeer. It was too far away to capture by iPhone. Far away reindeer look like moving brown rocks with antlers.

What a special night in Longyearbyen.

On the way back to town our bus driver came to a sudden stop. The driver announced that we had to wait while a huge herd of ducks crossed the road. I think it was a gaggle of geese but whatever the species it was funny!

 

Tonight was so wonderful I don’t even care what they serve for breakfast on the Star tomorrow. For the next little while I am going to subsist on the magical memories of this evening!

[YVRteacher]

It happened!

 

I was sitting in O’Sheehan’s chatting with new friends from Maryland after the evening tour and I checked the time. 11:59pm.

 

I rushed up to deck 13.

 

It happened! The Midnight Sun! On the first day of this cruise the Captain told us how special it is to see the Midnight Sun. Longyearbyen hasn’t had any sun in a quite a few days. To stand out on deck 13 and see the Midnight Sun was an incredible moment. A group of women walked by and saw me looking at the sky in awe. One of them said “Midnight Sun! first time on this trip.”

 

I exclaimed, “first time in my life!”

 

It happened! 
 

I saw the Midnight Sun! What a gift! I stayed up until 1:00am just watching the Sun and the sky and the clouds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[QuattroRomeo]

Your meal looks pretty good- a rustic meal with simple ingredients that tastes great! (Again, the ship's chefs might learn a thing or two on this excursion)!

 

Did your vegetarian stew have any protein? The brownies look so rich and filling!